


The Dragon Clasp

by Ohnonnynonny



Series: From The Point Of View Of Knights [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Protective Knights, Swearing, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-03 06:18:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11526306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohnonnynonny/pseuds/Ohnonnynonny
Summary: The mark of the prince's inner circle was a little, golden, dragon clasp that secured the capes of worthy knights.





	1. Owain

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I put up something new! This was an idea I had sitting around, so I thought why not give it a go. It's basically going to be about a knight per chapter, and how they came to be in Arthur's inner circle, aka before the knights of the round table was an official thing. I'll add more tags as I go. Some chapters may be cracky, while others are more serious. Depends on what I'm feeling as I write. 
> 
> Not beta'd in anyway. All mistakes are my own, so apologizing in advance for whatever mistakes/typos there are!
> 
> This story is authorized for AO3 only. It is not to be copied or used elsewhere without my explicit written permission.
> 
> I don't own the characters to Merlin(TV) and am not profiting from this work. Enjoy!

There was no such thing as the round table when Owain was first knighted. Even still, all the knights knew that prince Arthur had an inner circle. An inner circle that would follow him when he became King. Owain really wanted to be in that circle. Yes, he honored and respected the prince a great deal, but it was for his own pride that he wanted in.

At the time, he could say with complete certainty that the inner circle consisted of sirs Leon, Lancelot, Percival, Gwaine, and Elyan. The prince would never show favoritism, so the only way anyone knew of this circle was the small, golden, dragon clasp that secured their capes. A subtle design that wouldn’t attract too much attention.

Owain started working harder than ever to earn that clasp. He was always the first on the training fields and the last to leave, training until he could barely move sometimes. He knew Arthur noticed because he gave him his famous Nod of Approval. Owain knew it was only a matter of time, but week after week passed and nothing happened. He started to get tired and impatient.

Then there was one incident that would have damned him from ever getting into the circle, but thank the gods sir Leon was there to prevent it.

Owain was tired and stressed from a patrol when someone nudged him.

“Hey, Owain! Straighten up that back before his lord pratface sees! Don’t want to start slacking off now that you got his attention,” said Merlin with mirth in his eyes.

Owain was red in the face and was about to tell Merlin off for being so disrespectful. How dare he leave out his title and insult the prince! Slacking off!?

He was nudged again, this time by Leon who gave him a minute shake of the head. A signal he was sorely tempted to ignore.

“He’s gone now, you can go back to slouching!” said Merlin clapping a hand on Owain’s back. Owain almost doubled over from the manservant’s surprising strength.

“Oh, and here! I heard you were developing a cough. Drink it in one go. Gaius’s tonics are disgusting, but they work. I’ll catch you both later!” said Merlin, trotting away after handing Owain a small bottle.

Owain’s confusion must have shown on his face because Leon took pity on him and told him a secret.

“I’m only telling you this because we grew up together and you’re as good as a brother of mine. But if you tell anyone else, I’ll deny it completely,” Leon warned.

Owain gave him a quick nod, eager to know.

“I know you’ve been killing yourself to get into the prince’s inner circle or whatever bollocks you’re always on about, but the thing you haven’t realized is that Merlin is the key,” said Leon.

“M-Merlin?” asked a shocked Owain.

“I always see you eyeing these,” said Leon, grabbing onto his dragon clasp.

“That’s not true,” said Owain, unable to hide his bitter jealousy.

“Merlin is the one who hands these out,” said Leon, a bit bluntly.

“You’re joking!” Owain said incredulously.

“No. Everyone knows that Arthur is quite fond of the boy—”

“Well, yes—”

“Don’t interrupt. What no one really knows is that Merlin, above everyone, is the one with the prince’s absolute trust. When Merlin gives out this dragon, it’s a sign that Arthur doesn’t have to think twice about them as well,” said Leon, face earnest.

“But—”

“Look, Arthur vets all of his knights before they are officially knighted, but he doesn’t go any further than that. He’s too busy and has too much on his hands. Besides, he believes that once you’re knighted, there is no reason to question your motives. All that extra training you've been doing? Sure, Arthur's impressed, but it's what he believes every knight should do,” said Leon.

“Then what’s the point of the dragon?” asked Owain, giving in.

“I’m not completely sure. Gwaine said something about the ability to go above and beyond, but I just like to think of it as a sign of my character,” said Leon, proudly.

Owain stopped to think. He has been a bit more humbled trying to work hard enough to earn that dragon, but he hasn’t changed that much.

“Lighten up, Owain, if Merlin is dropping the sir from your name, it’s a good sign. But stop sucking up to Arthur, you’ll never get one of these that way, and definitely don’t suck up to Merlin,” said Leon, offering advice.

“How did you figure all of this out?” asked Owain.

“Did you know the first person to receive the dragon was Lancelot and he wasn’t even a knight yet?” asked Leon.

“But you had it the same time as him and Gwaine,” said Owain.

“No, Lancelot had his around his neck, under his tunic. Same with Gwaine. I remember he was in an unusually somber mood one time and when I went to go drag him away from the tavern, I saw him with the same dragon that Lancelot tried to keep hidden. I didn’t know what it meant, but I did pick up subtle clues. The way Arthur would strategize with Lancelot before me sometimes, or the way Arthur rolled his eyes and berated Gwaine for drinking, but never failed to include him on all the important missions.” said Leon, eyes a bit glazed with his head in his thoughts.

“How did you get yours?” asked Owain.

“You know what? I’m still not really sure. I found it neatly resting on my cape one morning. That’s what told me that it wasn’t necessarily about a certain deed, but about you as a person. I actually went to Arthur and asked him about the dragon,” said Leon.

“And?? Well, what did he say?” asked Owain, almost begging.

“He glanced at the dragon in my palm, gave me a satisfied nod, before simply saying ‘I don’t know where Merlin keeps picking those up, but it’s nice isn’t it’ before walking away. It was his own subtle way of telling me to shut up and just accept whatever it was. I don’t think Merlin ever meant to use it as he does now. He still doesn’t realize that everyone who earns one will inevitably become part of the ‘inner circle.’ Arthur just quietly watches and accepts,” said Leon.

Owain had a lot to think about that night and a lot of self-evaluating to do. After that night, he stopped working himself to the bone, but he found himself volunteering to go on extra patrols and watches when he didn’t need to. After a year of working on himself, of two more people getting the dragon, he came back to his chambers one evening to see his very own golden dragon sitting on his cape.

He wore it proudly the next day, getting a subtle double take and a nod from Arthur, and a small smile from Leon. Merlin was the same as ever, smiling at everyone else while being insolent with Arthur. The biggest difference was that Owain found himself genuinely smiling in return.  


	2. Kay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A second chapter so soon? :)

Kay always liked Merlin. From even before they met, Kay found himself amused by Arthur’s manservant. Merlin always had a kind word or smile for everyone he met, regardless of their station. 

Now Kay wouldn’t exactly call himself ugly, but he was told that he had an off-putting air about him. Gwaine told him that he looked the best when he didn’t smile, which was all the time, so he didn’t think much about it. Then when he tried smiling at a maid, a stable boy, and a lady and saw them all draw back in a mue of horror, he stopped smiling altogether.

Then one day, after nearly getting himself killed while trying to kill the dozen bandits that dared to kidnap  _ his _ little sister, he was thrown onto Percival’s back, limp and bloody, to be taken to Gaius’s chambers. 

“You know Arthur’s bloody furious with you, right?” teased Merlin, trying to lighten the mood. 

“You should have waited for the rest of us and not gone out by yourself,” said Percival, face grim. 

Kay did nothing but smile at the both of them. He could only imagine what he looked like, bruised and even more mental with his off-putting smile, face covered in blood. 

Percival turned away first, but Merlin simply smiled at Kay instead of flinching back in horror at Kay’s grisly face.

“At least he managed to take down more than half of them,” said Merlin, sounding more amused than anything. 

Kay’s smile got even wider before it faltered. “Ow.”

“That’s what you get for looking so smug,” huffed Percival, lips twitching. 

“Anyway, Arthur’s just mad because you could have died. You’re one of his brothers in arms and he would never forgive you or himself if you went off to get killed in some avenging angel crusade,” said Merlin, wiping Kay’s face and arms of blood. 

“M’not an angel,” Kay murmured, feeling properly chastised with a few words. He didn’t even think about how Arthur would feel if he did not make it back. 

“Says the man who gives all his gambling winnings away to the children on the streets,” said Merlin with whisper so that only Kay would hear.

Kay was about to deny it, when Gaius came in barking orders to both Percival and Merlin. Merlin just gave Kay a small wink before going to boil some hot water. 

There wasn’t much that got Kay’s attention, but from that day on, he had a newfound respect for Merlin and he saw a bit more of why Arthur kept Merlin around. 

After Kay was patched up, he reported to Arthur’s chambers and got the dressing down of all dressing downs. Arthur would have probably kept him there for hours if it wasn’t for Merlin. All Merlin had to do was say Arthur’s name and give him some sort of look. With a long-suffering sigh from Arthur, he found himself being dismissed. Then, exhausted and weary, he made his way back to his chambers with the help of Percival. He walked passed his dinner and collapsed on his bed, immediately falling asleep. 

The next day, he woke up to the smell of his breakfast and his stomach clenching at how hungry he was. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he limped over to the table and dug into his food. Afterwards, when he began to dress himself for the day, he spotted a new cape folded and placed neatly on the chest at the foot of the bed. On top was a small, golden dragon. Kay picked it up and couldn’t help the smile that came forth—no one was around to see it anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one will be up either tomorrow or in a couple days. Nothing is certain, but I will tell you it will be a little more cracky than these two chapters. Cheers and goodnight!


	3. Lucan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to update sooner than I thought! :)

Lucan prided himself on being one of the most perceptive people to ever exist. To be one of the last people to find out about Merlin’s magic was a blow to his pride. It was definitely the kingdom’s worst kept secret. That and the dragon clasp. The story of the dragon clasp is something Lucan hates to talk about, because if anyone found out about that, he would be stripped of his title and called paranoid instead of perceptive.

The only people who knew about it were Gwaine, Lancelot, and Percival. Okay, so maybe Arthur and Merlin knew the story (who was he kidding, of course they did). Gwaine got Lucan drunk enough to have Lancelot ask the right questions. Percival was probably there as an intimidation tactic, but that didn’t work because everyone knew what a gentle giant Percival was.

At first, Lucan accepted the general consensus that the dragon clasp was a sign of Arthur’s inner circle. However, having overheard a conversation between Arthur and Leon where the prince denied knowing much about it, Lucan’s mind began to fester with the possibilities.

In the end, he came up with the idea that those with the dragon clasp were a secret society that would overthrow the Pendragons when the time was right. How did he come to that? Well, one day, Lucan was on his way back to his chambers after a grueling training when he happened upon the Lady Morgana. She seemed to be trying to reign in her temper at the ogling of one of the visiting knights.

“Is there a problem?” asked Lucan, cautiously.

“No, Sir Valiant was just about to leave,” said Morgana in a falsely sweet voice.

“I’ll be seeing you at the feast milady,” said Valiant with a leer before sauntering off.

“Allow me to escort you back to your chambers,” offered Lucan.

“No, everything will be alright soon enough,” said Morgana, a bit cryptically, hand clasped around some kind of amulet. She let go to clasp her hands together, and when she did, the amulet turned out to be the golden dragon. “My maidservant is here now. Come along, Gwen.”

Lucan turned to look at Gwen, and found a minuscule version of the dragon around her neck. Well of course a maidservant couldn’t be seen with a golden clasp, so a small one to symbolize her loyalties must have been made.

Morgana and Arthur were always at each other’s throats. Morgana must have finally had enough to be the one in charge of this coup. Granted, he didn’t know her very well and he didn’t want to believe that such loyal knights could be part of an uprising, but he wanted to be extra cautious. Lucan vowed to keep an eye out and protect Arthur at all costs.  

When the three knights got all of that out of Lucan’s mouth, he finished off with a drunken, “and if I have to challenge all threeeee of you, so be it! I’ll die protecting Arfur!”

Lancelot was smiling proudly, Percival clapped Lucan on the back, and Gwaine was literally rolling around the dirty tavern floor, crying with laughter.

“Oh mate, ohhhh mate! Thanks for that, I really needed it,” said Gwaine, trying and failing to get up off the floor.

“What’s so funny?!” Lucan demanded with what he would vehemently deny was a pout.

“We’ll tell you when you’ve sobered up,” said Percival with a shit-eating grin

A couple hours later, sober and embarrassed, Lucan made his way back to his chambers to find a golden dragon of his very own, sitting on his cape.

The next day, Lucan put his clasp on reverently, and went out to meet the other knights.

“Must have been quite the show you put on last night,” said Arthur, glancing at his dragon. “I wish I could’ve been there.” 

“Sire!” said Lucan, standing straighter and trying not to flush with embarrassment.

“Sir Lucan,” said Arthur with a knowing raise of his eyebrow. Lucan watched on as Arthur walked over to Merlin and surprise pulled him into a headlock for some reason or other.

“So what happened?” asked some of the knights around him.

“Nothing and you’ll never know!” said Lucan before running over to beg Gwaine, Lancelot, and Percival to never tell a soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit cracky, but hope you enjoyed! Sorry if there were more punctuation errors and typos in this one. I'm so tired, but I wanted this up. The next update might take a bit longer, but thanks for reading!


	4. Bohrs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that took so long! Enjoy :)

Bohrs knew he wasn’t the brightest knight there ever was, but he was one of the biggest (bulkier than even Percival, thank you very much). He was also one of the more senior knights with a supposed mean streak a mile wide saved just for the new knight-to-be trainees. What? It was how he de-stressed. It wasn't the way he showed he cared about the younger knights' well-being, no matter what anyone said. Other than that, his temperament was generally taciturn and gruff. 

There was one person, however, who could turn Bohrs into his mushy, sappy, great aunt Marigold, and that person was Merlin. 

At first, Bohrs blamed it on the fact that he had four younger sisters and Merlin just somehow fit into that category. But the more he saw and interacted with Merlin, he knew that wasn’t it. Sure it didn’t hurt that Merlin was amazing with his sisters and looked out for his youngest whenever she was up to no good, but some of the other knights did the same thing and he didn’t turn into an embarrassing mess around them. 

“It’s because he’s like a small animal you want to take care of,” slurred Gwaine. It was no longer a surprise that Gwaine could still put together a sentence coherently after his sixth or seventh drink. 

“Like the princess says! *hiccup* He’s only tiny!” continued Gwaine.  “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I was sent to make sure you got back to your room in one piece,” said Bohrs, nursing his own ale.

“Aye. By Merlin?” asked Gwaine with a fond roll of his eyes. 

“No, by the prince,” said Bohrs.

“Huh, what a surprise. You know, you surprise me too,” said Gwaine, suspiciously sounding more sober than just before.

“I know. Rub it in. So what if Merlin can make me coo like a batty, old woman. It’s special circumstances!” growled Bohrs. 

“No, that’s not it. You were knighted by Uther. I thought you’d be Uther’s knight, through and through. I was prepared to fight you if you tried anything with our Merlin. Well, second in line,” Gwaine said with a grin. 

“You forget that I saw the prince grow from when he was a wee squire. Sure I thought Merlin should be flogged for his appalling manners, but that was before I really got to know the boy. He changed our prince for the better. I’ll admit there were times where I wasn’t too sure about our future king, but I’d follow than man into the very fires now, no question,” said Bohrs with a proud look on his face. 

“Good man! Huh, if the princess was even more hoity toity than he is now, they really should pay Merlin his weight in gold for the transformation he brought upon Arthur,” said Gwaine with a chuckle, downing the rest of his drink. 

“Admit it, Merlin was there when Arthur gave you the order, wasn’t he,” said Gwaine, waving his empty tankard at him. 

“No.. alright yes, fine, he was,” Bohrs admitted. “Now let’s get you back. I have a strong feeling that Arthur is going to run a surprise drill in the morning because he  _ cares _ about you so much,” teased Bohrs. 

With a loud curse, Gwaine dragged himself off the bar stool and let Bohrs lead him back to the castle. 

The next morning, two hours before training was supposed to start, all the squires were ordered to wake up the knights for a surprise drill. Bohrs wasn’t surprised at all and was already awake in bed, waiting for confirmation before he started getting ready. He was surprised, however, to see a small dragon clasp sitting on top of his cape. 

He picked it up in awe. He never thought that someone like him could earn such an honor so he didn’t even bother trying. Maybe there was some truth to Gwaine spewing all that bollocks about loyalty on the walk back to the castle. He did think that he saw Gwaine wink at him several times, but Bohrs just thought it was a bad twitch and prayed to the gods that the drunkard wasn’t about to have a stroke. 

Out on the field, the knights were to be fully geared up in their armor and cloaks before running several laps around the entire castle. He found Gwaine running in step with him and saw the smug look on his face when he saw the new dragon clasp on Bohrs. Gwaine left with what was a clear wink this time, and went to run beside his usual partner, Percival, not looking in the least bit hungover. 

“You absolute idiot! I can’t believe you made me late for my own surprise training,” yelled Arthur.

“Relax! I told you I let Leon know about it. See, your knights have already started and aren’t milling about,” Merlin panted as he was running to catch up to his lord. 

“It’s not about that. If I set up training, it’s my duty to be there with my men, not having a lie in!” Arthur snapped. 

“A lie in!? You’re still not completely healed from the attack last week, you prat! Gods know why you’re torturing yourself with more training,” huffed Merlin. 

“It’s so that things like last week won’t happen again, or if they do, we can all be better prepared,” said Arthur with gritted teeth. 

“I know, and I understand," Merlin said softly before continuing with a more sarcastic tone, "I’m sorry if I just wanted you to be more rested. Next time, I’ll let you suffer with your knights, just like the prat you are."

“That’s all I ask,” said Arthur exasperatedly.

Bohrs wasn’t the only knight that slowed down to hear the commotion, but he was bright enough to start running faster so he wouldn’t be part of the knights that Arthur eventually chastised for gawking at him and his manservant like a bunch of kitchen maids. 

He had a reputation to maintain after all and he would not let the prince down. Nor Merlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be quite a few run on sentences, but I cannot find the will to change them. Sorry haha I think about one or two more chapter before this little piece ends.


	5. Galahad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was something I was thinking about for a day or two, but I just couldn't think of a story to follow my idea. Then I get home from work and write this in one sitting. I got a bit carried away, I know, but I hope you like it! May have more errors due to the writing dump lol enjoy!

Galahad knew he was a talkative bastard and, contrary to popular believe, knew his moniker was Gabby Gal. If people thought that would encourage him to stop, they were wrong. He was insulted alright, but not because of the femininity of the name. It was rude to assume that only women could talk as he did. Knowledge is power and you get that knowledge through words. Words equal gossip and Galahad was never short in stock of gossip. Women gossiped all the time. Did men never wonder how they got so powerful? They were smarter than men after all. Just look at the Lady Morgana. Sharpest lady he’d ever met.

Galahad had words down to an art form. He could redirect any conversation and manipulate people into telling him information when they were the ones that were seeking to begin with. The only person he could never get a straight answer from was Merlin. That was strange because the man couldn’t lie for his life. He thought he’d met his match with Morgana (they had a tally going on between them), but Merlin was a mystery. Still, he loved talking to him and would never dismiss an opportunity to do so.

“ _Hay_ there, Merlin!” said Galahad to a dozing Merlin.

“Huh? Where? I thought I got all of it,” said a confused Merlin, blinking himself more awake.

“You did. And a fine job at that. In fact, I’d say you were _on top_ of it,” Galahad teased.

“Huh? Oh, right. Yes, I’m done here, got to go finish my chores before the prat throws another shoe at me,” said Merlin, still trying to shake himself awake as he got up from the pile of hay.

“Merlin? Are you alright?” asked Galahad, a bit concerned. That little joke would be something Merlin normally chuckled at.

“Yeah, yes! I’m fine. Was just up all night searching for a rare flower that blooms only at midnight in the middle of a bog! Well, I’ll be in Arthur’s chambers if you need me, bye!” said Merlin practically rushing out of the stables.

“I wasn’t even prying this time,” Galahad said with a chuckle.

He knew not to pursue anymore because everyone knew that any time a rare flower or herb was involved, it was Merlin dealing with some magical mishap or another. You knew a real plant was involved when Merlin came back with a small forget-me-not tucked away in his neckerchief. He didn’t know if Merlin was aware that he never failed to pick one of those flowers up on the way back from gathering other plants. Whatever it was, Galahad hoped that Merlin proved successful.

A couple days later, Galahad was on a hunt with the prince and some of the other knights. Trailing along behind them was a very sleep deprived looking Merlin. Galahad felt bad for the poor man, so he decided to go and regale him with the latest gossip.

“Not fair, why don’t you tell me the juicy court gossip,” said Gwaine, biting into an apple.

“What’s the point? Half of them involve you,” teased Galahad.

“You’re right, of course,” said Gwaine with a smirk, being proud instead of discouraged at the remark.

As the knights chuckled along, Galahad was about to launch into the story of the six-toe’d bar wench when they were ambushed by bandits.

They were faring pretty well until the presence of a sorcerer turned the tide in the favor of the bandits. He turned up, summoned a flock of demon birds, and left in a whirlwind.

“Arthur watch out!” yelled a frantic Merlin.

At Merlin’s cry, Galahad turned and jumped in front of Arthur and was stabbed in the shoulder by the bird’s sharp claws.

In all the chaos and destruction, they didn’t see that backup had arrived for the bandits. Suddenly the birds were gone and they were surrounded. The odds were three to one, nothing to the knights of Camelot, but then a small yelp changed everything.

Merlin was captured by the bandit leader, a sword to his throat.

“Now, everyone will lay down their swords or the boy dies,” sneered the leader.

“Let him go,” Arthur growled, pure hatred in his eyes.

“Now, little prince, I don’t think you’re in the position to make demands,” said the leader’s second in command.

After a deadly silence, Arthur gave in. “Everyone drop your weapons.”

All the knights obeyed at once.

“Now, we’ll just take the boy and perhaps if he listens, we’ll let him go for a ransom,” said the leader with a cruel smile.

“Take me instead,” said Galahad, still clutching at his shoulder.

“What? No! Just take me! Come on, let’s go. Let’s _go_ you stupid goats!” said Merlin, practically dragging the man with the knife to his throat.

“I think I’ll have fun torturing you, boy!” jeered the leader.

“You won’t get anywhere with the boy,” said Galahad. “He’s as dumb as he looks and ten times more loyal. You’ll get nothing from him.”

“Shut up, Galahad, you stupid cabbage head!” yelled Merlin in a desperate tone. “I’m the prince’s personal manservant! Think of all the things I know. And, and I’m his, his lov—”

“I’m his lover as well,” Galahad cut in. “And I’m a knight and I’m injured. I won’t be able to escape.”

The bandit leader seemed to think about it and realizing that a knight, and the prince’s lover no less, would have more valuable information, agreed.

“Alright. Walk over to us slowly, hands stretched in front of you,” said the leader.

Galahad walked over slowly and tried to ignore Merlin’s distraught face. Then he figured the least he could do was give Merlin a reassuring smile. As he turned to look, two things happened at once.

Merlin crashed into Galahad, embracing him. And Galahad felt something wash over him.

“Did the boy fancy the knight? Unrequited love for the whelp,”  jeered one of the bandits as he pulled Merlin off and tossed him to the side.

Galahad felt dazed, but surrendered himself to the bandits as Gwaine made a grab for Merlin.

“Something you’d know all about, I’d bet!” yelled Merlin, both angry and sad at the same time.

“Why you—”

“That’s enough," the leader said with a roll of his eyes. "Let’s get going. We’ll be sending a random shortly, _mi’lord_ ,” said the leader, smug in the knowledge of his win.

The last thing Galahad saw before he passed out was Arthur's grim and grateful nod.

A week passed and Galahad was weak with all the beatings he had taken, but he couldn’t help but laugh. He was thrown in a pit and left to die, but the laughter wouldn’t stop.

He knew he felt something when Merlin hugged him, but he didn’t know what it was until a couple of hours ago.

When the bandits realized that Galahad was getting more information from them instead of the other way around, they threatened to cut out his tongue. Galahad, being who he is, couldn’t resist the challenge and kept going.

“That’s fucking it! Cut out the bastard’s tongue and feed it to him!” said the leader.

One man stood behind the chair Galahad was tied to and held down his head.

“What’s the matter? Can’t do it yourself?” sneered Galahad.

Another man came up to him and pulled his tongue out.

Galahad would not cower in fear. With the remaining strength he had left, he kept eye contact with the leader as the man pulled out a dagger.  

“What an honor I’m bestowing upon you. I’ll cut that fucking tongue out myself!” shouted the leader.

As soon as the man put the dagger to Galahad’s tongue, a strange thing happened. The blade chipped and broke.

“What the hell?” said the bandit holding the tongue.

“A bad blade,” said the the leader, unsheathing his sword.

As soon as he tried again, the sword broke off. They tried stretching his tongue, but it snapped back to normal. They tried to burn it off, but a fountain of saliva took the flame out. They even summoned their sorcerer, but his magic could do nothing.

“This man is cursed! Throw him into the pit and let him return to the depths where he came from!” shouted the sorcerer.

Galahad was laughing at the idiot bandit group that left him to die. Why didn’t they just kill him? The funnier thing was that Merlin knew that his tongue would get him into trouble, so he made it invincible. Actually, Galahad wasn’t even sure that Merlin knew what he did.

“Galahad? Galahad? Gabby Gal? Where are you?” came a shout.

“Are you sure he’s here,” said a more regal voice.

“Yes. Erm, Gaius said that this sorcerer leaves a calling card of his magic wherever he goes,” said a shaky voice.

“A calling card that only you can see?” said the regal voice.

“No, you turniphead, it’s umm, it’s the umm wait shh!!!” said the other voice.

“Is that laughing?” said an incredulous voice.

“Over there!” said another voice, seemingly getting closer.

“Knights! Over here!” shouted the regal voice.

Before Galahad passed out again, he thought he saw a blurry group of relieved faces.

When Galahad came to, he was in the patient cot in Gaius’ chambers.

“You did what?” came a scandalized voice.

“I think I made his tongue impregnable?” said another voice in more of a question.

“And how do you know that?” said an elderly voice.

“Umm, the sorcerer I finally caught and defeated was sort of raving about it. Going on about why in the world someone would do that,” said a sheepish voice.

Galahad turned his head to see Gaius, Merlin, and Arthur in conversation.

“I swear to the gods, Merlin. What am I going to do with you,” said an exasperated Arthur.

“Nothing as we don’t talk about this. You need the plausible deniability if your father ever finds out,” hissed Merlin.

“You know I won’t let anything happen to you,” said Arthur in earnest.

“Yes, I know. And I’m so glad you know now, but I would never be able to forgive myself if I was the one that came in between you and your father,” said Merlin, almost pleading.

“One can only imagine how many times you’ve had this conversation,” Gaius said with a roll of his eyes and went back to making a potion.

Galahad found himself smiling widely. Merlin must have confessed to the prince recently. He probably didn’t know that all of Camelot except Uther knew about his magic, but no need to give the boy a heart attack. He let a few minutes pass before pretending to wake up loudly to give them enough warning.

“You absolute corn!” Merlin yelled, hitting Galahad on the arm, “don’t you ever do something like that again. I’m not worth it,” said a sad Merlin.

“I’m injured here!” whined Galahad.

“I mean it, Galahad!” said a stern Merlin.

“Well, you’re wrong. You are worth it. You’re my friend. I’d even go as far as to say my brother,” said Galahad with a proud nod.

“I hate you,” said Merlin, his eyes a bit misty, before he threw his arms around him.

“Is this going to be a regular occurrence? Do I need to be worried?” said Arthur with an eyebrow raised.

“Please, of course you do. Look at me,” said Galahad with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Arthur gave him a fond eye roll before placing a hand on his shoulder and practically staring into his soul. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” said Galahad, making a solemn promise in those words to always do what he could to look out for Merlin.

With a nod, Arthur dragged Merlin up and away. “Come on, you lazy idiot. Chores won’t do themselves.”

“Prat,” Merlin sniffed before elbowing Arthur and making a run for it.

“MERLIN!” shouted Arthur before chasing after him.

Galahad chuckled and got up himself.

“Will you be alright or shall I get someone to escort you to your rooms?” asked Gaius.

“Lucky for me, my chambers aren’t too far from here. I can limp my way over,” said Galahad.

“Drink this before you sleep. It will help with the healing process,” said Gaius, handing over a vial.

“Cheers, Gaius,” giving the old physician a wave before leaving.

After a sad meal of broth and watery porridge, aka the invalid meal, Galahad started to strip down for his bath. He grabbed a piece of bread and was chewing on it as he pulled off his tunic. Then when he started slowly pulling down his trousers, he felt something poke him. Gingerly putting his hand into his pocket, he pulled out the offending object.

As he opened his fist, his mouth opened in a large grin, dropping the bread. There in his hand was the dragon clasp. He placed it reverently on his night stand before picking up his bread and getting into the bath. As he took another bite, he swallowed a curse. There was small amount of blood on the half eaten loaf. He’d accidentally bit his tongue. Apparently, nothing could harm his tongue except for himself. With a bark of laughter, Galahad let himself soak in the soothing bath, thinking that it was a very Merlin side effect to the very Merlin spell that was placed on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments give life. Thanks for your continued support, you lovely people :)


	6. Extra: Rejects

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated on whether to add more knights, but the whole reason I started this new series is to write from a bunch of different knight's point of views, so I decided to save some ideas for more stand alone stories. Enjoy this extra! I had fun with this, especially the first half!

Somehow, whenever a new batch of knights got together to try and think of ways to get into the prince’s inner circle, Gwaine always knew about it. How? No one knew. But one thing Percival knew was that Gwaine felt it was his solemn duty to warn the naive men of the folly of some of their ideas. That is, Gwaine thought the solemn duty fell upon himself, Lancelot, Leon, Percival, and Elyan for being the “inner, inner circle.”

As there was a fresh batch of knights meeting to discuss, Gwaine dragged his fellow brothers down to the tavern.

“Listen up you young hopefuls. The first rule of the inner circle is we do not talk about the inner circle,” began Gwaine with a shifty look.

With a roll of his eyes, Percival picked up his cue. “The second is to heed our warnings and the tales you'll hear tonight.”

“The third is to try your best or not at all,” continued Leon, with the very air of a leader.

“Fourth and last. Do not be bitter if you don't make it. It does not mean you are a lesser knight,” said Lancelot with conviction.

“Unless, of course, you are,” muttered Gwaine before being elbowed by Elyan to shut up.

“It would also be wise to remember that this has nothing to do with whether you're of noble birth or not,” added Elyan, looking at those arrogant, noble men who thought it would be a shoo-in for them.

“For those not blessed with enough wits to realize it yet, it’s all about what Merlin thinks of you if you really want in. There are only two things you need to remember,” said Percival.

“With that, hold on to your ales, gentleman, and listen carefully. First up, I'll explain to you, Sirs Montague and Bertrand, exactly why kissing up to Merlin will definitely not work,” said Gwaine before downing half his drink. “In fact, it will do more harm than good.”

“Now, you all, maybe not all, but most of you at least, know that sucking up to prince Arthur will do no good. Impressed though he may be, it's what he expects out of his knights,” started Leon.

“Aye, I can give testimony to that,” chuckled Owain in good spirits.

“Now here's where we begin the tale of Sir Edric,” started Gwaine.

“Who's that?” asked a young knight in the back.

“Exactly. Now shut up and listen,” said Gwaine.

Before he could start up again, Elyan began the story.

“Sir Edric started off the same as many, the Prince route, and began training harder,” said Elyan, looking around at his audience. “When that didn't work, he thought about what else he could do. He thought, ‘of course! Merlin has the prince’s ear!’ So, he began to pay the manservant more attention.”

“Now, you lot have to be right idiots if you haven’t realized how protective of Merlin our princess is,” said Gwaine with a smirk.

“Naturally, prince Arthur noticed that Merlin was receiving more attention than normal from Sir Edric, so he started to get suspicious instead of impressed at the knight’s new prowess,” said Leon.

“Sir Edric didn’t even do anything untoward. He did small things like giving extra compliments and giving Merlin some extra sweetmeats from the market stalls,” added Elyan.

“The small acts alone annoyed the prince to no end, but the day that he found out that Sir Edric wanted to secure a private meeting with Merlin, he didn’t just sit idly by,” said Lancelot, shaking his head.

“You see, as soon as Arthur heard the news, he went to hunt down his manservant. How unfortunate for Sir Edric that Arthur caught him speaking to a cornered Merlin in a shady looking alcove,” said Percival with his eyebrows raised.

“Arthur saw red and attacked. Not listening to reason, he ended up sending the poor knight off to Camelot’s Freezing Northern Borders, to stand watch for the rest of his career,” said a grave Elyan.

“That was a memorable day. Merlin, bless him, shouting his little head off about how his virtue was never in danger,” said Gwaine with mirth.

“So any attentions towards Merlin, whether it be small niceties or bribes, don’t even try. You may think you can do it in secret, but trust us, the Prince will always know. If you don’t believe us, you can write to Sir Edric in the North,” said Leon.

“Or Sir Laurel,” added Percival.

“Or Sir Ebor,” said Elyan.

“Or Sirs Isaac, Darien, and Brennis,” said Gwaine.

“All of which are posted in the North,” said Lancelot, solemnly.

“Didn’t the Lady Morgana lie about Sir Ebor hitting on Merlin to get rid of him last Samhain?” asked Galahad.

“I knew it!” shouted Lucan, slamming his tankard on the table.

Leon smirked and scanned the scattered faces of the knights. Some were understanding, some were shocked, and some were in deep thought. Things were progressing as normal then.

“Second,” started Gwaine, all traces of mirth gone, “never, ever, _EVER_ think to use force on Merlin."

“And you best listen,” said Bohrs, standing up for the full intimidation effect.

“Merlin is not only watched over by us,” said Lancelot, using his hand to motion to the other knights already in the circle, “he’s watched over by the entire castle.”

“Aye, the castle has eyes,” said Gwaine with a cryptic smile.

“That brings us to the story of Valiant. A knight I have no qualms of dropping the ‘sir’ for,” said Leon.

“Merlin is really the only one who drops the sir as a friendly thing,” chuckled Elyan.

“Hang on, Valiant? As in Vengeful Valiant, the sorcerer knight?” asked a knight further in the back.

“The very one. Except he was not a vengeful sorcerer. Just a slimy git, prouder than Uther himself,” said Gwaine.

“Well, go on then! We want to hear this tale,” shouted Sir Gareth, one of the younger knights.

“Agreed. This is a story I’d like to finally hear about,” said Sir Lucan.

“Of all the knight hopefuls that I’ve wanted to crash and burn so brightly, it was a shame that Valiant was already a knight to begin with,” said Kay, ruefully.

“Valiant was your average, rough and tough, brute knight. He came sauntering into Camelot one day for some tourney or other, saying he was the best the Western Isles had to offer,” began Percival.

“Too bad it was a tourney that didn’t allow the prince to take part in. He would have been long gone then,” said Elyan, shaking his head.

“As it was, Valiant won the tourney. It was unfortunate that one of ours suffered a fatal wound and passed. Sir Ewan, may he rest in peace,” said Lancelot

“May he rest in peace,” chorused the knights.

“He fought dirty, but Uther let’s say _appreciated_ Valiant’s ruthless, merciless ways,” said Leon, with barely concealed disapproval.

“At the tourney feast, Uther asked Valiant if he wanted to extend his stay. The twat then went on about how being a knight was boring where he came from, so he might as well pledge himself to Camelot. That right there rubbed our princess the wrong way. I mean, Arthur’s all about being noble, so a man coming in saying he wanted to trade one king for another was disgusting to him,” added Gwaine.

“Say what you will about him being a brute, but he was clever in his own ways,” said Galahad.

“Aye, that he was. He caught on pretty fast to the “inner circle” of knights that our princess had going. It was for his own pride and status that he decided he needed to be a part of it,” said Gwaine.

“He played his cards well, playing the noble knight because he knew Arthur didn’t think too fondly of him,” said Percival.

“After he felt like Arthur had softened towards him, he went with the trying to impress Arthur route that everyone always tries. Though seeing it do nothing for Owain, he stopped after a couple days. That’s when he noticed our Merlin,” said Leon.

“Apart from putting on an act in front of Arthur, Valiant took joy in the suffering of his lessers,” said Elyan before finishing his ale. “As long as he wasn’t around, Valiant did whatever he wanted.”

“I remember this. He spotted Merlin, thinking he was like any other serving boy, and was about to order him around when another knight beat him to it. It was some other knight hopeful who stayed behind after the tourney,” said Kay.

“Sir Kent didn’t have a chance. As soon as he raised his hand to hit Merlin, Arthur appeared out of nowhere and caught his wrist before he could land a blow,” said Elyan.

“What happened to him?” asked a knight in the back.

“Feck knows,” said Gwaine with a snort.

“Anyway, Valiant saw Merlin in a new light after that. He did try bribing him as well, but he found out quickly enough that Merlin didn’t like him in the least,” said Percival.

“Some of the scullery maids overheard him saying how he would just strong-arm Merlin into giving him one of them clasps. News passed on from them to some of the stable hands, to some kitchen maids, to one particular maidservant, to the Lady Morgana herself,” said Lancelot.

“The Lady Morgana, being the Lady Morgana, took it upon herself to deal with the issue,” said Leon with a fond smile. “She stopped us knights from outright confronting Valiant and came up with a plan.   

“She told us that Arthur needed to catch Valiant in the act. That way he could challenge the boar himself,” said Elyan.

“Amazing how quick the castle caught on. Nobody wanted Merlin to have to deal with Valiant’s attempted confrontations more than the once, so everyone took part in helping Merlin unknowingly avoid him,” said Percival with an amused chuckle.

“That was good fun. I remember the wee squire, Podrick was it, subtly kicking a bucket in front of Valiant. The swearing when Valiant stepped clear into the muck was a laugh,” said Bohrs with a grin.

“Aye,” said Gwaine. “Shows he has quick thinking going for him, the way Valiant was charging over towards Merlin. He’s even a knight hopeful now, isn’t that right, Pod?”

“Yes, sirs, I am,” said Podrick, sitting in the back with the rest of the young lads. Bohrs smiled at the several ‘well done’ slaps and punches that Podrick earned for that.

“There were various cases of tripping, misdirection, and even slight food poisoning to keep him away,” said Kay with a mischievous grin.

“It all came to ahead at the feast held for the newly knighted men,” said Elyan.

“Valiant’s patience was wearing thin so he was more likely to mess up,” mused Lucan.

“Exactly. And to top it all off, Morgana made sure that if Valiant were to suddenly disappear or die, that there would be no love lost when it came to Uther,” said Leon.

“And how did she do that?” asked another knight.

“She asked to be excused early from the feast because she didn’t appreciate the lingering stares she was getting,” said Gwaine moving on to his next drink. “She said that to Uther whilst glancing back in Valiant’s direction several times. Subtle without being subtle at all.”

“Uther narrowed his eyes at Valiant and of course let her go. He even asked Merlin to escort her back to her rooms,” said Elyan.

“Uther? Asked Merlin?” said a shocked knight.

“We were surprised too,” said Leon. “Hell, Arthur choked on his wine and asked his father outright why he was asking Merlin.”

“The king simply said that Merlin being a servant, would probably know of more discreet and hidden ways to get the Lady Morgana back to her room,” said Lancelot.

“Uther actually helped move along the plan. Now, this was before Merlin and Arthur were more than prince and manservant. So, obviously being the jealous and possessive princess that he is, he couldn’t wait more than ten minutes before going after them. Apparently ten minutes was way too long to escort someone all the way to the other side of the castle and return,” said Gwaine.  

“You know I thought Arthur would miss them in that alcove behind the kitchen, but it’s like he has a sixth sense when it comes to Merlin,” said Kay. “Right as he was about the pass the kitchen, he just stopped. Then as he was about to keep walking, he heard a hiss and checked the alcove.”

“He expected to see Morgana and Merlin passionately snogging, but to his horror, he saw Merlin pinned to the wall. Valiant had Merlin’s arm twisted behind his back and was fiercely whispering something in his ear,” said Percival.

“I honestly thought he was going to run him through right then and there,” said Elyan.

“Me too. But it was a damn hard not to laugh outright when Arthur chucked his gauntlet at Valiant’s head,” said Percival.

“How on earth did you all manage to see, well, all of that?” asked another knight.

“Well, it’s no secret that Merlin and the Lady Morgana have magic. Okay, maybe it still is to Merlin, but not to the lady herself. We were all watching this from her scrying bowl in her chambers,” said Gwaine with a grin to several gobsmacked faces.

“Anyway, it was a fight until first blood because there was no way Arthur could justify a fight to the death over his servant. Uther agreed and the match was set for the following morning so Valiant didn’t have a chance to run away,” said Leon.

“It should have been an easy fight, but of course Valiant cheated. Morgana had a vision about the snakes on Valiant’s shield coming to life so she warned Merlin,” said Elyan.

“As soon as Valiant tried to activate his snakes, Merlin said some kind of counter spell. Only, it wasn’t exactly the right wording. What happened instead was Valiant himself turning into a giant snake,” said Lancelot.

“Merlin was about to run out there to defend Arthur himself, but Arthur being the perfect knight, took Valiant’s own confusion for the opportunity that it was and beheaded him on the spot,” said Leon, looking proud.

“It was pretty nasty to see the snake shrivel up into pieces of a very dead Valiant,” said Gwaine with a grimace.

“And Arthur was a damn sight more possessive of Merlin after that,” said Galahad with a chuckle.

“So again, no threats to Merlin. If you do, you’ll be out of here faster than Gwaine can finish his ale,” said Percival.

“You’ll be lucky if you make it out with everything in working condition,” said Bohrs, cracking his knuckles.

“Take our warnings to heart, and just be the best version of yourself,” said Lancelot with a warm smile.

“And this is where we leave you. Good luck to all, and goodnight,” said Leon with a nod.

“Come on, help me drag Gwaine's arse out of here,” said Elyan to Percival.

“Take our warnings to heart—”

“Lancelot already said that part, Gwaine,” Percival with an annoyed, but amused huff.

“Oh, right, well , good luck to you feckers! Inner inner circle, out!” slurred Gwaine.  

“Oh, bloody hell, let’s get him out of here before the other men think that’s another thing to aim for,” said Elyan.

“Well, we are the inner inner circle,” said Lancelot, a few paces away from the tavern, holding back a grin.

“Not you too, Lancelot. Wait you too, Leon?” asked an exasperated Elyan.

“We don’t want the other knights even more jealous, do we,” said Leon, slapping Elyan on the back.  

“Come, on mate, don’t tell me you didn’t think it true,” said Percival with an eyebrow raise.

“Well, alright, I suppose, but I didn’t realize it was something we acknowledged,” said Elyan.

“We don’t, only this drunkard does,” said Leon.

“Come on, let’s get back before Arthur or Merlin gets suspicious,” said Lancelot.

“Drinks back at mine!” cheered Gwaine.

The knights just stared at each other, shrugged their shoulders in the way that meant ‘why not,’ and headed for Gwaine’s chambers.

*

Bonus.

 

“Do they still think we don’t know that they do this every time?” said Merlin, standing in front of Arthur’s window, watching the knights head back to the castle.

“Let them have their fun,” Arthur drawled from his desk.

“It’s been seven years,” said Merlin, amused.

“Well, it does wonders in making the new knights work harder,” said Arthur, putting down the parchment he was reading.

“I know. I used to feel bad when I first found out they were making such a big deal out of all this, you know? But I’ve heard from the grapevine that there are no hard feelings,” said Merlin, toying with the hem of his tunic, “so I guess it’s okay.”

“Alright, spit it out. What’s bothering you,” said Arthur, standing up and joining Merlin at the window.

“I’m afraid the knights will hate me once they find out about my magic,” said Merlin staring out at the knights with a wistful look on his face.

“Is that all?” said Arthur with a huff.

“Arthur! You know this is a big deal for me. Remember how hard it was when I tried to tell you?” said Merlin, angry that Arthur was taking this so lightly.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about it because they already know,” said Arthur.

“WH-WHAT? WH-WHEN? WHAT??” said Merlin, whirling around to face Arthur.

Arthur tried very hard not to burst out laughing at Merlin’s indignant squawk.

“In fact, everyone knows. The entire castle. Well, everyone except Uther,” said Arthur.

Merlin turned pale at that and made his way over to sit on the bed.

“No one has said anything because they all love you and respect you. They know you’ll tell them when you’re ready,” said Arthur, joining Merlin on the bed.

“B-but how?” Merlin said in a small voice.

“Really, _Mer_ lin, you can’t be that much of an idiot. You’re really not as subtle as you think,” said Arthur with a smirk.

“I’ll give you subtle!” roared Merlin before his eyes flashed gold and Arthur's considerable amount of pillows suddenly started to attack the prince.

“Mer-Merlin! You can’t-this is treason!” Arthur shouted in half outrage and laughter as he battled his own pillows. As soon as he managed to swat the last one out of the way, he was tackled by Merlin.

“Do you yield?” said Merlin, panting but smiling his normally bright smile.

“To you? Always,” said Arthur, as if making a vow.

Merlin’s face softened at that, his guard completely down, so he didn’t expect Arthur to flip them over.

“And you? Do you yield?” asked Arthur, copying Merlin.

“Always,” said Merlin, out of breath.

“Good,” Arthur smiled before placing a chaste kiss on Merlin’s mouth.

“Prat,” said Merlin, beaming.

 

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here concludes this fic. This was great fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry about all the mistakes in grammar, as I am sure there were many (hope not enough to make it too distracting to read!) Kudos and comments give me immense joy, so what are you waiting for? :) (Thank you to those who have been leaving kudos and commenting, it really does make my day!)

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to add a chapter a week or more if I have any. Kudos and comments give me life. Cheers!


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